three lights moving in a triangle formation, no sound, all three lights went out at the same moment

10 September, 1996 Approx. 11:45 PM Sky: Clear Temperature: 60 F As I arrived home and got out of my car, I glanced up at the stars as I often do. Tonight though, I noticed that something wasn't right about them. So I closed the car door and leaned back against the car to see if I could figure out what it was. Then I noticed 3 stars in a triangular pattern that I could not recall ever seeing before. I began trying to get a fix on the star patterns. I knew the location of Polaris and these stars were just left of it. From my position, I'd say they were North Northwest. Next I located Cassiopeia, just to my right or North Northeast. So then I looked back to the stars to see if I could identify them and as I watched them, I thought to myself that they were moving. At first, I dismissed it as a trick of the light, but after a few more seconds, I used my index finger and thumb to measure the distance from a near by tree. I was getting ready to take a second measurement when I noticed that I could definitely see movement. All three "stars" were moving in an East Southeasterly direction. All three lights were "white" light. I didn't notice any color change or flickering in them. The front light and the back right light were the brightest, the back left light was about half the brightness of the other two. As I watched, the lights got closer overhead, then they suddenly went out. All three of them at the same time. I noticed that there did not seem to be any difference in the movement of the lights, that is to say all three light remained the same distance apart during the time I watched them. Almost as if they were all attached to one object. I waited outside for a few more minutes to see if the lights would come back on, or if I could hear some kind of engine noise, but nothing else happened. About a week later, I mentioned the event to a group of friends and one of them told me that someone who worked in the City of Fayetteville, approx 30 miles away, had mentioned seeing something similar. Unfortunately, I didn't get the name of the individual and hav! e lost c ontact with the friend who mentioned it. I'd also like to add that I served in the USAF for 20 Years, where I worked on Aircraft from the SR-71 to Special Operations Helicopters. I am familiar with aircraft flying in formations as well as doing night operations. These lights did not appear to fit any formation light configuration that I every saw.